Ten Interesting Facts...The Great Depression

Have you ever wondered what caused the Great Depression? What was Black Tuesday? Learn the answers to these questions and other interesting facts with this article.

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. . . The Great Depression.

Black Tuesday

1. On October 29, 1929, the stock market lost $14 billion. During the week of Black Tuesday, the stock market lost $30 billion. This would be equivalent to $377,587,032,770.41 today.

Photos

Dorothea Lange’s photo of Florence Thompson with several of her children has become a moving symbol of the Great Depression.

In the photo, Florence Thompson was age 32 years old. She had seven children. Florence was a migrant pea picker in California. This photo was taken in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California.

Unemployment Rate

Average Rate of Unemployment during the Great Depression

1929: 3.2%
1930: 8.9%
1931: 16.3%
1932: 24.1%
1933: 24.9%
1934: 21.7%
1935: 20.1%
1936: 16.9%
1937: 14.3%
1938: 19.0%
1939: 17.2%

Monopoly

The board game Monopoly became a big success when it first went on the market in 1935. Players could pretend to be rich. This was a nice break from the reality of the depression.

Gangsters

As money became scarce, gangsters began to surface. Some infamous gangsters of the 1930’s included:

- John Dillinger
- “Baby Face” Nelson
- Machine Gun Kelly
- Pretty Boy Floyd
- Ma Barker and her Boys
- Bonnie and Clyde
  
  Movies

Going to the movies was a favorite pastime during the Great Depression.

Approximately 60 to 80 million Americans went to the movies weekly. Hit movies included:

Tom Sawyer (1930)
Frankenstein (1931)
King Kong (1933)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Income

Average Wages during the 1930s

Occupation	Income
Industries	$1388/year
Government Workers	$1517/year
Public School Teacher	$1455/year
Building Trades	$1233/year
Health Services Worker	$933/year
Doctor	$3172/year

Cutting Costs

Because buttons were too expensive, Americans began using zippers during the Great Depression.

Roosevelt’s New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt promised a “New Deal for the American People” when he became President in 1933. He established a number of federal organizations such as TVA, NRA, CCC, and WPA to get people back to work.

Price of Goods

Product	1920s Prices	1930s Prices	1940s Prices	1950s Prices
Butter (Pound)	.70	.46	.42	.74
Eggs (Dozen)	.78	.52	.45	.67
Rice (Pound)	.17	.09	.08	.17
Washing Machine (Electrical)	85.00	74.50	48.00	65.00
Bicycle	43.00	32.00	29.00	45.00